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A6
news
Guardian www.guardian.co.tt Saturday, August 16, 2014
RESHMA RAGOONATH
Don t expect an election budget
filled with goodies.
Instead, Finance Minister Larry
Howai said yesterday, his ministry s
focus for the 2014-2015 fiscal pack-
age would centre on government s
commitment to reduce T&T s
national debt to Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) ratio.
Howai was addressing a special
media conference on the 18th floor
of the San Fernando Teaching Hos-
pital, Chancery Lane, after a cabinet
meeting on the national budget yes-
terday evening.
He said that the budget, which
will be read on September 8, would
"continue to focus on our growth
momentum and the initiatives we
put in place to continue to grow.
That would be the first order of
business."
Howai said the focus would also
be on keeping the commitment to
reduce the deficit.
He said the trajectory of reducing
the budget deficit by one per cent
of GDP on an annual basis would
be continued as from last year.
The minister said it was expected
that this year s figures "will come
in a little better than originally fore-
cast. We will be better."
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-
Bissessar did not attend the meet-
ing. She was expected to address
the media conference but did not
turn up. Also absent from yesterday
afternoon s discussions with the
Cabinet were Minister of Public
Administration Carolyn Seepersad-
Bachan and Foreign Affairs Minister
Winston Dookeran, both of whom
voted against the Government, on
Tuesday, on the controversial Con-
stitution (Amendment) Bill 2014.
Howai said yesterday s discus-
sions were "wide ranging" and
"general in nature."
Discussions, he said, mainly
focused on revenue and revenue
generation, individuals and what
could be done to assist them in dif-
ferent phases of their life cycles and
housing.
Howai said the contentious Land
and Building Tax was still being
worked on by his ministry. He
added that the ministry was still
putting arrangements in place to
facilitate the Industrial and Building
tax.
"We would need to put legislation
in place for that; (it) will take a little
longer than originally expected," he
said.
Security measures, he said, were
not discussed in detail at the meet-
ing.
Howai said he was surprised to
learn yesterday that pay inequity
existed in the Unemployment Relief
Programme (URP) where women
performing certain duties were paid
less than men doing the same tasks.
An increase in the minimum
wage and salary increases for URP
and CEPEP workers, he said, were
also discussed. However, he said,
these aspects would have to be eval-
uated and their policy and cost
implications considered.
Attention readers! Remember
to keep your Friday, Saturday,
Sunday and Monday T&T
Guardian papers.
Tune into Crime Watch live on
Monday from 6 pm, on CNC3, for
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If the number drawn matches
the number on the back of either
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The jackpot for Thursday, July
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Monday by 5 pm, the jackpot will
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KALIFA CLYNE
Opposition Leader Dr Keith
Rowley is pleased that the Integri-
ty Commission has taken steps to
complete its investigations into
the series of e-mails which he read
in Parliament last May, by initi-
ating legal action against Google
Inc.
Rowley added that any similar
legal action by Attorney General
Anand Ramlogan was his personal
business.
"I am only interested in the affairs
of the Office of the Attorney Gen-
eral, not in Mr Ramlogan s personal
affairs," Rowley said in a telephone
interview yesterday.
On Monday, the Integrity Com-
mission filed legal action in a Cal-
ifornia District Court, in the US,
to compel Google to release specific
information on three e-mail
addresses which allegedly belonged
to high-ranking government offi-
cials.
The investigation stems from e-
mails read in Parliament in May
last year by Rowley, who claimed
they were evidence of corruption,
threats against a journalist and con-
spiracy.
He expressed his hope that the
investigation would be completed
soon.
Read! Watch! Ca$h! Mega-Mondays Draw
Rowley pleased with e-mail lawsuit
Budget to focus on debt reduction
Larry Howai:
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Economy Rudranath Indarsingh, from left, Minister of Labour
and Small and Micro Enterprise Development Errol McLeod, Minister of National Security Gary Griffith, Minister of
Finance Larry Howai, Minister in the Ministry of National Security Embau Moheni, Minister in the Ministry of the
Environment and Water Resources Ramona Ramdial and Minister in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure
Stacy Roopnarine were among members of the Cabinet at yesterday's budget meeting at San Fernando Teaching
Hospital. PHOTO: RISHI RAGOONATH
Finance Minister Larry
Howai says flooding in
Port-of-Spain has been
identified as a "matter of
priority" and is being given
"very urgent attention" by
government.
This, as his ministry
evaluates a financing
package to deal with the
problem.
Howai, addressing a media
conference at the San
Fernando Teaching
Hospital, Chancery Lane
last evening, said a
financing package that has
been worked out with the
Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) to
address flooding in the
capital city.
Yesterday heavy rains once
again wreaked havoc in
Port-of-Spain leaving
hundreds of commuters
stranded as flood waters
covered the capital city's
streets.
He stressed that flooding in
the capital city had to be
addressed given the impact
of it "will have on overall
levels of productivity."
(See Page A9)
Fixing city
flooding
a priority
Zero tolerance for public buildings --- Page A8